🙃 Watch Libs of TikTok's creator in awkward interview

Hi there,

🗳️ Black LGBTQ+ candidates still face a myriad of hurdles in running for political office. The obstacles include not only racism, homophobia, and transphobia but also financial challenges, a lack of role models, unfair media coverage, and more, according to the report, “When We Run: The Campaign Trail Experiences of Black LGBTQ+ Candidates,” released Tuesday. It comes from the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and Loyola Marymount University’s LGBTQ+ Politics Research Initiative. Read more about the report and what some queer Black politicians are doing to fight back against these challenges. 🗳️

🙃 Chaya Raichik, the creator of the anti-LGBTQ+ social media account Libs of TikTok, had what can only be described as one of the most awkward, cringe-worthy interviews with The Washington Post's Taylor Lorenz. Raichik, who is known to target LGBTQ+ people and allies in her posts, struggled to talk about her reasons for targeting queer people. Lorenz asks pointed questions about the hate Raichik spews, and Raichik cannot seem to give adequate answers than just repeating conspiracy theories or just not answering. 🙃

🏛️ It took a jury only four hours last week to convict a South Carolina man of murdering a Black transgender woman in the first federal trial for a hate crime based on the victim’s gender identity. Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe, 24, was found shot to death in her car in Allendale, South Carolina, on August 4, 2019. Rest in power, Dime. ❤️

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper